Send "Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Pastemagazin |
 Bob Wills was a decent fiddle player and a consummate evaluator of talent, and the band he assembled in 1946 and 1947 was among the greatest in music history. The Tiffany Transcriptions, a daunting 10-CD box set, captures that band at its peak, and remains the essential touchstone for Western-swing music.The 150 songs in this set find Wills and the Texas Playboys in a relaxed, easy-going mood. Intended as the musical anchor for syndicated radio shows throughout the Southwest (hence Tiffany; the name of Wills’ syndication venture), the songs were typically recorded just after the completion of long tours, when the band was at its road-tested best. This music offers the clearest picture of how the Wills band would have sounded as it barnstormed across the country....full text |
| Americanaroots |
| Another artist that belongs to that group, but that is often overlooked in some circles, is Bob Wills. Along with his Texas Playboys, Wills has influenced many with his blend of country, blues and jazz. George Jones recorded a tribute in 1962 (<I>George Jones Sings Bob Wills</I>), Merle Haggard produced his tribute in 1970 (<I>A Tribute To The Best Damn Fiddle Player In The World (Or My Salute To Bob Wills)</I>).During the “Outlaw” movement, Willie placed a Wills song prominently on his <I>Shotgun Willie</I> album and continues to perform “Stay All Night (Stay A Little Longer)” in his shows. In 1975, just prior to Wills’ death, Waylon recorded his proclamation that “Bob Wills is Still the King.” Wills’ songs have been covered by artists such as Ray Price, Johnny Cash, Tim McGraw and the Dixie Chicks. Wills began his career working with medicine shows in 1929 before forming his first band, “The Bob Wills Fiddle Band,” in 1930. In 1931 joins the Lightcrust Doughboys, sponsored by Burris Mill. After a couple of years the Dougboys split and two of the preeminent Texas Sing bands are formed – Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys and Milton Brown and his Musical Brownies. Both bands travel around Texas and Oklahoma in a musical rivalry until Brown died in 1936. Although other Texas Swing bands were popping up, Wills and the Playboys were the kings. As people began to make their way to California from Oklahoma, Wills started touring the Golden State heavily as most of its newer residents were familiar with his music. And this is where the Tiffany Transcriptions enter the picture....full text |
| Austinchronicle |
| In 1975, Waylon Jennings sang, "Bob Wills is still the king." Digging through this 10-CD box set makes plain what provoked that sentiment. The Kosse, Texas-born Wills (1905-1975) didn't invent Western swing, but he took it to places no one could've imagined. The Tiffany Transcriptions were cut for radio syndication, recorded in San Francisco 1946-1947, with Wills & His Texas Playboys at the height of their powers and popularity. There are official studio releases from the time, but the Tiffany sessions capture the band in its essence – live – revealing chain reaction musical spontaneity that's utterly infectious. Naturally there's Wills' best known tunes, "Faded Love" and "San Antonio Rose," as well as the Playboys' take on Duke Ellington ("Take the 'A' Train" positively smokes), Count Basie, Glenn Miller, Cole Porter, Nat Cole, and Benny Goodman, plus traditional folk and fiddle tunes, blues and boogie, show tunes, yodeling from the McKinney Sisters, and seemingly improvised instrumentals on occasion, all of it jiving and jamming like mad. Wills' ear for talent is obvious as the Playboys include such all-time great players as steel guitarist Herb Remington, guitarist Junior Barnard (whose stunning solo on "Fat Boy Rag" influenced rock & roll guitar players for decades), mandolin player Tiny Moore, fiddler Joe Holley, and, perhaps most importantly, guitarist/arranger Eldon Shamblin. These discs were initially available individually on vinyl and then CD but have long been out of print. The box expands original liner notes with a new historical essay by Rich Kienzle and brief, insightful comments from Austin's Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel, Big Sandy and Ashley Kingman of the Fly-Rite Boys, and Ranger Doug of Riders in the Sky. For fans of those acts and like-minded champions of country and swing – i.e., the Hot Club of Cowtown and Wayne "the Train" Hancock – The Tiffany Transcriptions are the Holy Grail....full text |
Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys lyrics
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